Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty (November 29, 1940 – January 19, 2007) was a Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. A tenor, he was a founding member of the 1960s musical group
the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Early life and career
Denny Doherty was born in
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
on November 29, 1940, the youngest of five children.
He grew up in Halifax's
North End in a devout Catholic household. His father was a dockworker and Doherty has described his mother as "a housewife and mystic".
Early musical career
Doherty and three friends, Richard Sheehan, Eddie Thibodeau, and Mike O'Connell, began their musical career in 1956 with a band called the Hepsters. Two years later they disbanded. In 1960, still in Halifax, Doherty, aged 19, along with
Pat LaCroix and Richard Byrne, began a
folk group, called the Colonials.
signed the group several months later, at which time they changed their name to
the Halifax III.
The band recorded two LPs and had a minor hit, entitled "The Man Who Wouldn't Sing Along With Mitch", but broke up in 1965.
The Mamas and the Papas
In 1963, Doherty established a friendship with
Cass Elliot
Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the P ...
when she was with a band called
the Big 3. While on tour with the Halifax III, Doherty met
John Phillips and his wife, model
Michelle Gilliam.
A few months later, the Halifax III dissolved, and Doherty and their accompanist,
Zal Yanovsky, were left broke in Hollywood. Elliot convinced her manager to hire them. Thus, Doherty and Yanovsky joined the Big 3 (increasing the number of members to four). Soon, after adding even more band members, they changed their name to
the Mugwumps,
which soon broke up due to insolvency. Yanovsky went on to form
the Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful is a Canadian-American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band were among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influ ...
with
John Sebastian.
About this time, Phillips's new band,
the New Journeymen, needed a replacement for
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
Marshall Brickman, who had left the group to pursue a career in television writing. Doherty, then unemployed, filled the opening.
After the New Journeymen called it quits as a band in early 1965, Elliot was invited into the formation of a new band, which became the Magic Cyrcle. Six months later in September 1965, the group signed a recording contract with
Dunhill Records. Changing their name to the Mamas and the Papas,
the band soon began to record their debut album, ''
If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears''. The Mamas and the Papas song "
Creeque Alley" briefly outlines this history.
Doherty sang lead on "
California Dreamin'" released in December 1965 prior to the release of the debut album early in 1966.
Relationship with Michelle Phillips
In late 1965, Doherty and
Michelle Phillips
Holly Michelle Phillips ( Gilliam; born June 4, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Described by ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine as the "purest soprano in pop music", she rose to fame in the mid-1960s with the folk rock vocal ...
started an affair. They were able to keep it secret during the early days of the band's success. When the affair was discovered, John and Michelle moved to their own residence (they had been sharing a house with Doherty), and the band continued recording together. Eventually the group signed a statement in June 1966 with their record label's full support, firing Michelle from the band. She was quickly replaced by
Jill Gibson, girlfriend of the band's producer
Lou Adler. Gibson's stint as a "Mama" lasted two and a half months.
Due to fan demand, Michelle was allowed to rejoin in August 1966, while Gibson was given a lump sum for her efforts. The band completed their second album (titled simply ''The Mamas and the Papas'') by re-recording, replacing, or overlaying new vocal parts by Michelle Phillips over Jill Gibson's studio vocals.
After a string of hit singles, many television appearances, a successful third studio album (''The Mamas and the Papas Deliver'' in March 1967), and the group's appearance at the
Monterey International Pop Festival (which had been organized by John Phillips and Lou Adler) in June 1967, an ill-fated trip to England in October 1967 fragmented the already damaged group dynamic. Elliot quit after a stinging insult from John Phillips (although she returned to complete her parts for the group's fourth album, ''The Papas and the Mamas'', which was not released until May 1968). By then, Michelle had given birth to
Chynna Phillips (in February 1968) and a formal statement had been released announcing the group's demise.
Solo career
Elliot and Doherty remained friends after the band's break-up, while Elliot had a hit solo show. She eventually asked Doherty to marry her, but he declined. He released a few solo LPs and singles during this period, two of note being 1971's ''Watcha Gonna Do?'' and 1974's ''Waiting for a Song'', the latter of which went unreleased in the United States.
Featuring both Michelle Phillips and Cass Elliot on background vocals, the recordings would be Elliot's last, as she died of heart failure in her sleep on July 29, 1974, after a sold-out run in London a few months after the record was finished. Doherty was stunned and saddened and attended the funeral, along with John and Michelle Phillips.
In 1982, he joined a reconstituted Mamas & Papas,
consisting of John, his daughter
Mackenzie Phillips, and
Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane, which toured and performed old standards and new tunes written by John. Doherty later produced an off-Broadway show called ''Dream a Little Dream'', which was a narrative of his perspective of the story of the Mamas & the Papas. It was well received and garnered favourable reviews. The show was in part a response to John's PBS documentary ''Straight Shooter: The True Story of John Phillips and The Mamas and the Papas''. It featured music from the group and focused on his relationship with Cass Elliot.
From 1993 to 2001, he played the part of the Harbour Master, as well as the voice-overs of the characters, in ''
Theodore Tugboat'',
a
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
children's show chronicling the "lives" of vessels in a busy harbour loosely based upon
Halifax Harbour.
In 1999, he played Charley McGinnis in 22 episodes of the
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
series ''
Pit Pony''.
In 2004, Doherty appeared on
Sharon, Lois & Bram's 25th Anniversary Concert special, ''25 Years of
Skinnamarink'', that aired on
CBC on January 1, 2004. He sang two songs with the trio: "
California Dreamin'" and "
Who Put the Bomp?"
One of his last appearances was in the Canadian TV series ''
Trailer Park Boys
''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary television sitcom created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer park resi ...
'', Season 7 Episode 10 (season finale) as FBI Special Agent Ryan Shockneck. Filming was completed just shortly before his death in early 2007 and the end credits dedicate the episode to him.
Personal life
Doherty had three children: A daughter from a brief first marriage, and a daughter and son, John, by his 20-year marriage to his second wife, Jeannette, who died in 1998 from
ovarian cancer. John Doherty was in the Canadian
ska punk band
illScarlett.
Death and burial
Doherty died on January 19, 2007, aged 66, at his home in
Mississauga
Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. The cause was not immediately known, but he had suffered from
kidney failure following surgery for an
abdominal aortic aneurysm
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized enlargement of the abdominal aorta such that the diameter is greater than 3 cm or more than 50% larger than normal. An AAA usually causes no symptoms, except during rupture. Occasionally, abdo ...
. His funeral service was held at St Stephen's Roman Catholic Church in Halifax. He was interred at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in
Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia.
Life documentary
Shortly after his death, a documentary about his life was released titled ''Here I Am''. The title song was written by blues guitarist
James Anthony.
Discography
"-" indicates did not chart in that territory
Filmography
See also
*
Canadian rock
*
Music of Canada
The music of Canada reflects the diverse influences that have History of Canada, shaped the country. Indigenous Peoples, the Irish-Canadians, Irish, British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical Culture of Canada, herit ...
References
External links
The Official Denny Doherty Website*
''Dream a Little Dream'' – Doherty's narrative of the Mamas & the PapasCBC obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Denny
1941 births
2007 deaths
20th-century American musicians
20th-century Canadian male singers
Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States
Canadian folk rock musicians
Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian people of Irish descent
Canadian pop singers
Canadian Roman Catholics
Deaths from kidney failure in Canada
Dunhill Records artists
The Mamas and the Papas members
Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia
Singers from Nova Scotia